Treasure from 1745 for sale in L'Acadie

Fieldstone house lovingly preserved after being home to generations of Quebec farming families

The 18th century, Québécois-style fieldstone house has more than 4,600 sq. ft of living space. Built in 1745, the house was saved from demolition in 1967 by a local heritage admirer who bought the home and moved it, stone by stone, board by board, to its new location in L'Acadie. It is one of the oldest residences for sale in North America.

Photograph by: Robert J. Galbraith
, Montreal Gazette

The sleepy little village of L'Acadie and its 18th and 19th-century homes are some of Quebec's most valuable heritage treasures, which year after year, decade after decade, century after century, remain standing as a testament to where we come from. And while most prospective homebuyers tend to look for the newer, modern contemporary style homes to purchase, once in a while a real treasure hits the real estate market, one that can actually give the visitor goose bumps.

One such treasure currently up for sale is the Québécois-style, fieldstone house at 780 Chemin des Vieux-Moulins, in L'Acadie, just 35 km southeast of Montreal, close to St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

This home is a survivor. In reality, it shouldn't still be standing, but for the efforts of one visionary Quebec heritage preservationist, the late Jean-Pierre Valiquette.

Originally built in 1745 in St. Hubert, on Montreal's south shore, the two-storey, detached stone home was the homestead for untold generations of farming families.

Then in the 1960s, the farmer who held title to the large tract of farmland, including the residence, started selling off lots to developers. That's when Valiquette stepped in.

Valiquette bought the two main structures for a paltry $500 then set about dismantling both structures.

He didn't want the land, just the buildings. The historian recorded and labelled each stone, each board, each wooden plug and window hinge as a guideline for the eventual relocation and reconstruction of the buildings.

Valiquette moved all the pieces of the centuries-old house from St-Hubert to L'Acadie. Once there, he spent the next five years and $50,000 reconstructing the buildings from a jigsaw puzzle of thousands of pieces.

Now this property (MLS#8434503), which is one of the oldest residential properties for sale in North America, is being listed for sale by Royal LePage St-Jean for $579,000.

With over 4,600 sq. ft of living area, four bedrooms and two bathrooms, this rural property is a brilliant, rare pearl waiting to be discovered.

"It is the most spectacular property I have ever dealt with," confessed property broker, Richard Boire. "Back in the '60s, no one wanted the farmhouse and outlying buildings, so it was slated for demolition. That is until Valiquette saw it." While the building may be 266-years-old, it has all the modern conveniences of a modern world, with an Old World ambience.

The residence, built in the Breton and Normand architectural styles of Old France, has a new sloping cedar shingle roof, in-ground heated pool, two wood-burning fireplaces built of stone (one of which has an attached bread oven), parking for six cars, wood and stone siding, an Artesian well, wood window frames and fieldstone walls ranging from 2.5 to 3 foot thick. Exceptional 16-foot-high ceilings are supported by the original white pine beams and tresses. The original white and yellow pine floor boards, found throughout the property, add a hue of warmth and soothing tones.

Any piece (such as the hand-forged window latches) that was too degraded to preserve, was skilfully reproduced by hand forging to the exact specifications.

The surrounding countryside is as spectacular as the actual listing. A 10-minute drive from St-Jean and 20 minutes from Montreal, the home is set in a quaint rural setting, with the meandering L'Acadie River flowing past the backyard like a lazy jazz song. Neighbouring properties of over-200-year-old dot the roadway along the Old Mill Road.

These landmark properties stand as a testament to the love of history, heritage and social development of the Municipality of L'Acadie, which was founded by the Acadians after the Great Expulsion of 1755-63, when 11,500 French inhabitants were deported from their Maritime lands. Many thousands were deported to Louisiana, among other places, and became known as Cajuns.

This same spirit of survival is found in these old buildings, which if they could talk, would tell tales of forgotten and trying times, and times of prosperity and growth.

This home is not a property to be bought and flipped. It is a fabulous piece of architecture for a niche market. This landmark property must be bought and cared for by someone who is willing to carry-on a tradition of preserving the past while living with the future.

For that person who is looking for a dream home with a colourful past and a love of Québécois history and culture, welcome home to your paradise! It's a real beauty to behold and it is ready and waiting for the next generation to come home.

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The 18th century, Québécois-style fieldstone house has more than 4,600 sq. ft of living space. Built in 1745, the house was saved from demolition in 1967 by a local heritage admirer who bought the home and moved it, stone by stone, board by board, to its new location in L'Acadie. It is one of the oldest residences for sale in North America.

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